An Underground Galaxy The Waitomo caves of New Zealand’s North Island contain a remarkable,twi

An Underground GalaxyThe Waitomo caves of New Zealand’s North Island contain a remarkable,twinkling display of almost cosmic beauty, and it’s all thanks to the larvae of Arachnocampa luminosa, a glow worm endemic to both islands. The name of the caves is derived from two Māori names. “Wai”, meaning water, and “tomo”, meaning hole or shaft. These caves were known to the indigenous population for many years, but it wasn’t until local Chief Tane Tinorau and English surveyor Fred Mace thoroughly explored the caves in 1887 that the “Glowworm Grotto” was officially documented. Although they look like worms, they are actually a species of fungus gnat in which not only the larval stage is luminescent, but also the imago stage (last stage of metamorphism). The larva hangs from several millimetres of silken thread (also known as snares), and glow to attract prey. As the collective larvae look like a starry night sky, the midges, moths and other delicious insects are tricked into believing they’re outside and fly upwards into the snares.The Māori name for these glow worms is titiwai, which means lights reflected over water, and the fact that they are set against a backdrop of limestone stalagmites,stalactites and other cave formations, further enhances the view. If you’re lucky, you can swim, wade or raft upstream as far as possible on the underwater river, and then slowly float back down under this canopy of glittering titiwai.-GGSources: http://bit.ly/1ZVsw3Phttp://bit.ly/1Qe9UYIhttp://bit.ly/1UsPvC8Image: Donnie Ray Joneshttp://bit.ly/24vXH9ahttp://bit.ly/1mhaR6e -- source link

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